All industries have budget restraints and are competitive, but the FMCG industry has notoriously low profit margins – often single-digit margins – that are being squeezed even tighter with the current inflationary issues. However, their large volumes mean that a percentage point in market share gain can lead to millions of dollars in revenue. Understanding the customer and how to meet their needs is critical to success.
Recently we were invited to attend a meeting by one of our clients, a large FMCG organisation, for a company update. They shared a lot of information about changes in the industry and in consumer behaviour generally and as we were listening we recognised a lot of synergies with our offerings at Peeplcoach.
What is important to consumers in 2023?
Consumer insight | How does Peeplcoach meet this need? | |
Changes in household structure There are more single-person and smaller households, impacting ‘package’ size and overall household consumption. |
At Peeplcoach our mission is to make coaching and leadership development accessible to all. Our on-demand online content and coaching delivery, as well as our accessible price point (from $99 per month), allow us to be accessible to a wide range of organisations, from small companies with between 5 and 10 employees to large global businesses. Consumers and businesses need the flexibility to scale up or down. They also do not want to be tied to unbreakable contracts. That is what Peeplcoach offers with our on-demand coaching and leadership development. |
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Diversity and ethnicity Over the next decade it is predicted that the makeup of new immigrants coming to Australia will change from those with predominantly UK or European backgrounds to those from Asian and Indian backgrounds. This will impact household consumption and offerings required. |
Not only will consumer consumption patterns change with a more diverse culture, but leadership and employee expectations will also change. Leaders will need to learn not only to inspire and manage a different generation of employees, but also to manage employees with varying communication styles, cultural idiosyncrasies and work habits. Successful leaders will need to be more adaptive, empathetic and people-smart, and they will require additional support and training to become effective and impactful leaders across a mix of different cultures and backgrounds. | |
Sustainability Consumers want to know whether a particular product or service is harming or helping our environment. |
Environmental sustainability and the circular economy are becoming more significant criteria when making purchasing decisions. And consumers are moving beyond the concept of reactive sustainability – i.e. limiting harm to the environment – to active sustainability, which involves individuals considering how they are actively helping the environment. With the virtual delivery of all our programs’ content and coaching, not only are we accessible in terms of price and scalability, but the waste and impact of travel, printed materials and so on is minimised. | |
Food allergies and fads Consumers are becoming more aware of and concerned about the foods – sugar, dairy, gluten, meat, seafood and so on – that are impacting them personally, and/or damaging the environment. One size clearly does not fit all anymore. |
While increased food sensitivities do not directly impact Peeplcoach, an analogy would be that leaders are becoming much clearer about their specific leadership and career goals and gaps, and are no longer happy to sit through days or even hours of generic content that may not meet their specific needs. Our modular approach ensures that all our programs can be modified to meet the specific needs of an industry, organIsation or individual. Employees are also more aware of the cultures, leaders and environments they will and will not tolerate. With the current talent shortage, leading organisations need to invest more to attract, retain, develop and protect their employees. |
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Provenance There is a greater focus on locally made products, craftmanship and originality. |
Covid, lockdown and travel restrictions have all led to provenance becoming more important during the decision-making process. Consumers are more focused on supporting locally owned and managed organisations and content. Peeplcoach is proudly Australian-owned. All the shareholders and investors are Australian, and all content has been developed to meet the needs of Australian leaders and organisations. Interestingly, we are also an export item now – a number of our local but globally owned organisations are expanding our programs into other offices, including those in Singapore, New Zealand, the US, the UK, China and India. | |
Value Price and budget are becoming more significant issues. |
Consumer and business confidence is wavering, and consistent interest rate rises and business restructurings are forcing all of us to seek better value for the products and services we buy, whether for the home or for business. There is no question that Peeplcoach offers value for money and is readily accessible, with our programs starting from only $99 per person per month. This means that a 12-month program coaching program is less than $1200 for the year. Additionally, 100% of the learning and development dollars an organisation spends goes towards actual development, as there are no admission, travel or accommodation costs to consider. Effective development will result in a return on investment. Download our ROLD Calculator here to calculate the ROI of your learning and development dollar. | |
Functional benefits Consumers want to know how a product or service will help them to be healthier and more effective. |
We are all seeking ways to improve our wellbeing, whether in terms of our physical, emotional, mental, career or business health. What are the ‘hacks’, such as adding vitamin C to water or sunscreen to moisturiser, that can make our lives healthier with little effort? The impact of the Peeplcoach leadership programs is clear. Our 2022 impact study, completed by Dr Joel Davies, found that as a result of participating in a Peeplcoach program:
Increased engagement, motivation and leadership capabilities not only results in greater retention but also greater productivity and, ultimately, increased profit. |
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Indulgence to self-care Consumers are moving from wanting to spoil themselves to wanting to look after themselves and their future. |
This development may result, for example, in consumers changing from a tub of ice cream, which could be considered indulgent, to a serving of organic yoghurt with fruit and activated almonds. Both are sweet desserts, but one has more nutritional value than the other, thus is more about self-care than indulgence. While not directly transferrable, the concept of executive 1:1 coaching being a privilege and only for the C-suite (indulgent) is now changing to being an essential for long-term business success as well as for the optimum performance, success and retention of employees. Employees are demanding development and support to improve their skills and drive their careers, and the Peeplcoach approach of combining 1:1 coaching and leadership development content is allowing organisations to scale their support to the areas of greatest need – emerging and developing leaders. |
It is great to know that Peeplcoach is meeting the needs of our business and individual customers.
How are your learning and development programs meeting your employee’s needs?
If you would like to find out more about the impact Peeplcoach is making with leading organisations, please go to our website or book a free demo here.